The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on 24th November passed a bill to make it mandatory for cinemas to sell their tickets through a government-run online platform in a bid to minimise tax evasion. Minister for information and public relations Perni Venkatramaiah told the Assembly, as he introduced the legislation on behalf of chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, that the government had decided to introduce a seamless online movie ticket booking system on the lines of Indian Railways online ticketing system. The bill — Andhra Pradesh Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Act, 2021 — was unanimously passed by a voice vote. It was introduced in the state’s legislative council for passage, yesterday (25th November) before seeking the governor’s assent.
The online movie ticket booking system is proposed to be run by the Andhra Pradesh State Film Television & Theater Development Corporation. Perni said that the cinemas will not be allowed to conduct more than four shows daily. Also, selling tickets at unreasonably high prices like Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 will no longer be permitted, according to him. The government made this move as there were instances where there was no connection between a cinema’s collections and the GST accruing to the state government, he informed.